"I support Senator Victor Ramirez," activist Qiana Johnson writes, "because he understands that charges are often based on complex laws—and enforced by long mandatory minimum prison sentences—creating strong incentives for defendants to capitulate to lesser charges, perhaps even to crimes they did not commit."

Montgomery County, seen from the outside, may seem an idyllic collection of affluent suburbs and single-family homes: a place where you can live your American Dream. But when you start knocking on doors, you learn there’s a lot more to who we are. My place, my status in this diverse county "qualifies me to understand the real challenges families face, and to find real solutions that meet their needs," Council at-Large candidate Brandy Brooks says.

Victor Ramirez will not only work diligently to decrease the School-to-Prison pipeline within our county, but will also partner with various religious organizations, community groups, nonprofits, law enforcement and government agencies for the benefit of our young people, says educator Janna Parker.

It's GET OUT THE VOTE TIME. Early voting is on from now till Thursday (June 21) and the Primary Election is Tuesday, June 26. Our candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor is Ben Jealous, who will appear tonight (Monday, June 18) with Bernie Sanders in Silver Spring (SS Civic Center, doors open 6:30). Why is this election important? Ben says “It's time to dream big again. And when we have leaders in D.C. who can't get the job done, it's time to get it done here at home."

Progressives at the "We the People Summit" yesterday (Wed. June 13) challenged the Dems who are claiming to move left to show the walk to go with the talk. We note that the summit showcased the usual Dem suspects and though they were full-throated on the issues, the list of out-front Democratic progressives does not seem to be getting longer.

Paradoxically, at the WaPo "the four powerful men in charge have evinced zero interest in either “lean[ing] out, step[ping] aside,” or ceding power to women or to anybody else for that matter," notes Hal Ginsberg. "In fact, libertarian Bezos and neoliberal Hiatt consistently embrace political and economic policies that enhance the power of male-dominated multinational corporations and the military-industrial complex."

MoCo executive candidate Marc Elrich has a coordinated program to fight climate change and improve the economy's efficiency with a job-creating benefit through solar power and energy-friendly roofs in new homes and public buildings. MoCo activist and environmental writer Susan Nerlinger outlines them here in a blog post that originally appeared on the PMD Montgomery page.

Early voting begins Thursday June 14th and continues through the 21st in advance of Primary Day, June 26. Don’t get ambushed by inconvenience in this extremely important election.

Wait, aren’t they all important? Sure, but the ones that seem most important are in your rear view mirror and they are the ones when you didn’t get around to voting – and the results were pretty horrible. Take 2014. Please.

So plan ahead to be SURE you vote this time. See below on getting you AND your neighbors to the polls.

I am supporting Eve Hurwitz for State Senate, Dist. 33 because it has been a long time since residents of District 33 have had even a liberal option to represent them in the Maryland Senate, so they are fortunate to have a true progressive like Eve on the ballot in 2018. I am particularly inspired by Eve’s drive to advocate for women’s issues and her ability to effectively channel that activism to fight for broader issues of social justice.